These spicy chicken meatballs are the perfect appetizer, glazed with a mixture of Korean gochujang and pepper jelly. Serve them up for game day, or make them the star of the meal!
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 celery stalk chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 jalapeno pepper chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 pound ground chicken you can use ground beef, ground turkey or ground pork as well
1 cup panko or more as needed – you can sub in bread crumbs instead
1 egg beaten
2 tablespoons gochujang or more as desired
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon spicy red pepper flakes or more as desired
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chopped herbs sesame seeds and spicy chili flakes for garnish
FOR THE SPICY KOREAN CHILI SAUCE
1/4 cup pepper jelly
3 tablespoons gochujang
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat.
Add celery, onion and peppers. Cook about 5 minutes to soften.
Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.
Remove from heat and add contents to a mixing bowl. Cool slightly.
Add the ground chicken, panko, egg, gochujang, ginger powder and chili flakes. Add salt and pepper to your tastes.
Hand mix the meat mixture until everything is combined, but do not over mix. If you over mix with your hands, the meatballs can become mealy.
Form the meat mixture into 1-inch sized meatballs. You should get about 16 meatballs, about an ounce each or so.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat the pan again to medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Brown the meatballs 3-4 minutes, rolling them a bit to brown all of the sides.
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the meatballs for 10 minutes, or until the chicken meatballs are cooked through.
FOR THE KOREAN GOCHUJANG GLAZE / SAUCE
While the chicken meatballs are cooking, add the pepper jelly, gochujang, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and pepper to a small pot. Heat gently, stirring, until it is well combined.
Pour the gochujang sauce / glaze over the chicken meatballs, or you can brush it on.
Sprinkle with chili flakes, sesame seeds and fresh parsley and serve.
I hope you enjoy them! You can find the printable recipe with notes and discussion at www.chilipeppermadness.com.